Spokane River continuing to rise

The rain has stopped falling for now but the Spokane River is still rising after our wettest March on record.

The problem is that while flooding is light right now the spring runoff hasn't even started.

The warning signs from the parks department went up Monday morning, but water over the Centennial Trail this time of year really isn't that unusual. What is different is that the water making up these high flows is made up almost entirely of runoff from our recent storms.

Our snow pack - all 111-percent of it - is still up in the mountains and that's exactly where Avista wants it.

"Well it's good for us and our customers because if the snow melts gradually and the river flows stay high over a longer period of time that's more water we can put through our turbines to generate energy for our customers," Anna Scarlet with Avista said.

In the meantime the river is running at about 26,000 cubic feet per second and expected to crest on Wednesday and then slowly drop off.